What Is Xbox Live Gold Membership
Xbox Live Gold is Microsofts online gaming subscription service which a user must have to access online game modes on the Xbox One and Xbox 360. Besides the online gaming feature, Xbox Live Gold membership comes with some additional features as well. Xbox Live Gold members get to enjoy 3-4 free games at the start of every month. Along with that, Xbox Live Gold members also get special discounts on digital games. Microsoft allows users to enjoy a free Xbox Live Gold trial in order to get a glimpse on offer.
Why You No Longer Need Xbox Live Gold To Play Fortnite
You used to require an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play free-to-play games on Xbox, but that’s no longer the case.
If you’ve tried to play Fortnite without Xbox Live Gold in the past, you will have discovered that despite being free-to-play, you needed an Xbox Live Gold membership to play it.
If you have been burned this way in the past, you’ll be pleased to know that you can now play Fortnite on Xbox without an Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Xbox Game Pass Vs Xbox Live Gold: What’s The Difference
Both subscriptions offer more gaming options for Xbox owners, but they’re not the same thing. We break down the differences.
Does the PS5 have an edge on the Xbox Series X/S in terms of its lineup of current and upcoming exclusive game titles? Maybe. But where Xbox has a distinct advantage is its Game Pass subscription option, which lets Xbox owners play more than 100 games for single flat fee . It’s a great deal, but the only problem is that Microsoft has some confusing messaging around the available Game Pass options: There are three versions of the subscription, along with a Xbox subscription called “Xbox Live Gold.” Gold, meanwhile, is included in some versions of Game Pass, but not others.
Need help untangling the differences? Read on.
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Xbox Live Gold Gift Cards
If your looking for Xbox Live Gold gift cards ahead of the holiday season, you’ll be happy to learn you can gift a membership quickly and easily, whether you’re buying through Microsoft or a third party like CDKeys or Amazon. Many retailers have their own gifting services, in which case you’ll just need your recipients email address but if you don’t want to use this service, simply make a note of the code you receive with your order and pass it on to the recipient.
You can redeem your Xbox Live Gold gift card directly at Microsoft.
Is The Xbox Live Gold Price Increasing
For one hot second the Xbox Live Gold price was increasing, however as of January 2021, that decision has been reversed . It seems the backlash was too great for Microsoft to put its costs up at this stage.
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Does Xbox Game Pass Include Xbox Live
Yes, with the Ultimate subscription you also get Xbox Live Gold. It also includes Deals with Gold, Games with Gold and multiplayer. A standalone Xbox Live Gold subscription costs $9.99 per month, whereas the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price is only $14.99 per month. This means that Ultimate is a hell of a deal.
You Need Xbox Live Gold For Multiplayer Gaming
If you want to play online multiplayer on your Xbox One or Xbox 360, you will need Xbox Live Gold. Your subscription also enables access to the party system and voice chat. If you try to use the online mutiplayer features within games without Xbox Live Gold, youll be stopped in your tracks and told you need Xbox Live Gold to continue.
This service isnt necessary for playing single-player games, and it isnt required when playing multiplayer games offline. For example, you dont need to pay anything to play a split-screen game with two people in the same room on the same console.
Xbox Live Gold also isnt required if you want to watch Netflix and Hulu, or use other media-streaming apps. For example, In the Xbox 360 daysand even when the Xbox One launchedyou needed to pay both the Netflix subscription fee and the Xbox Live Gold subscription fee just to watch Netflix on your Xbox One, but Microsoft changed this. Xbox Live Gold is now only useful to gamers.
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Xbox Live Gold: Price And Availability
Xbox Live Gold is available as a monthly subscription for $9.99 per month in the U.S. and over 40 additional territories. It’s also available in upfront installments for savings on the usual monthly rate, priced at $24.99 for three months, $39.99 for six months. Xbox Live Gold is available through a 12-month prepaid membership for $59.99 via third-party retailers like Amazon, GameStop, and Walmart, although no longer through Microsoft. This tiered pricing structure makes it better to purchase Xbox Live Gold in bulk upfront, over the monthly fee.
Microsoft’s all-inclusive Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription includes Xbox Live Gold, too, coupled with Xbox Game Pass for console and PC, cloud gaming on mobile, and other perks like EA Play. The subscription is available for a flat $14.99 monthly rate in the U.S.
While Microsoft outlined plans to increase Xbox Live Gold pricing back in January 2021, it later reversed the decision following widespread backlash.
How Can You Play Fortnite Without Xbox Live Gold
You previously needed an active Xbox Live Gold subscription to play Fortnite, as well as a range of other free-to-play games, online, on your Xbox. This is because you needed a subscription to use online multiplayer features on the Xbox network, even for games that are free to play.
This was, suffice to say, rather silly. Especially when Microsoft’s console rivals, Sony and Nintendo, both let you play free-to-play games online without paying for the privilege.
Both of these companies have Fortnite on their consoles, both of them have a paid-for online multiplayer service, and yet both of them allowed people without memberships to play Fortnite online.
Which is probably why Microsoft finally relented and allowed people to play free-to-play games without Xbox Live Gold. Yes, that means all free-to-play games are available without an Xbox Live Gold subscription, not just Fortnite.
This move is just one of many boons for free players. For instance, you can now also use Xbox Party Chat without a membership, meaning you can talk online for free.
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Should I Get Xbox Live Gold Or Xbox Game Pass
This depends on your gaming habits. Xbox Live Gold’s biggest selling point is not the free games, but it’s being able to play online. Are you someone who is going to play a few games online and only those games on a regular basis? Then you’ll want Xbox Live Gold.
On the other hand, if you want what is the equivalent to “Netflix for video games,” then Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is an easy choice. You have more than 100 games to choose from, and you’ll be able to play them from multiple devices. Tack on Xbox Live Gold, and you get a tremendous value for $15 a month. Put another way, you get to play dozens of games per year for the price of just three new console games purchased at retail .
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Xbox Players Will No Longer Require Xbox Live Gold Membership To Play Over 50 Online Multiplayer Games
Microsoft is making over 50 games free to play on Xbox without an Xbox Live Gold membership. Now all Xbox players will be able to play these online multiplayer games for free. The party chat feature for these free-to-play games will also not require Xbox Live Gold membership. Microsoft will also make the Looking for Group option open to all users this month via a system update.
The Xbox website has been updated with the list of games that are now free to play. It will also display whether the game is free to play online or requires a subscription in the Microsoft Store. There are some features that still require a subscription and these include premium or paid game modes and experiences. Demos of games that require a pre-order or purchase, early access edition, trial license versions also require an Xbox Live Gold subscription. There’s an FAQ page for Xbox players to get more details about this new update.
As for the free-to-play Xbox games, heres the full list:
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What Benefits Do Members Get
Not only does Gold connect you with other Xbox One owners, but the service also expands your gaming horizons by granting you access to game downloads and early-access demos, so you can experience games before the public.
Some games are free, but most are member-only sales with discounts up to 80% off. Microsoft says that Gold members can get up to $700 in free games during a year of membership, which includes backward-compatible Xbox 360 games for your Xbox One.
Is The Xbox Live Gold Price Worth It
If you want to play online, you need to grab yourself an Xbox Live Gold subscription to do so. However, if you’re not looking for multiplayer, you might be struggling for reasons to pick up a new service.
One of those reasons may be the Games with Gold program which offers free Xbox titles every month in a similar vein to Sony’s own PlayStation Plus offerings. This is included with your Xbox Live Gold membership, so if you regularly find yourself looking for something new to play there are some benefits here.
Plus, those Xbox Live Gold member discounts will come in handy if you’re a regular shopper, so if you’re spending a lot on that digital marketplace you may well make back the Xbox Live Gold price overall.
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Is Xbox Live Gold Required To Play Forza Horizon 4 Pc
You do not need Xbox Live Gold to play Forza Horizon 4 on PC both single-player and multiplayer modes in Forza Horizon 4 PC are playable without Xbox Live Gold.
Forza Horizon 4 has multiple game modes with both single and multiplayer abilities.
So if you want to have a relaxing game against AI players, then the single-player mode is for you. But if you want to play against real people in multiplayer modes, you need Xbox Live Gold to access these modes.
So Do You Need Xbox Live Gold
Ultimately, no, you don’t need Xbox Live Gold. You can still play your games offline, without access to the internet. However, if you want to compete and play with or against other gamers, you’ll probably want to sign up.
If you have a busy schedule and rarely pick up your Xbox One controller, there’s no need for the extra expense. For those who download a lot of games and love the thrill of multiplayer online gaming, Xbox Live Gold is a great thing to have.
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How Does Deals With Gold Work
In addition to the free games, Microsoft offers a variety of exclusive deals on digital Xbox One and Xbox 360 games to members. You can view the current deals on the Deals With Gold website and in the Store on your Xbox. These deals change every week. And as with the free games, you wont see the latest big-name games here as soon as theyre released.
Once youve purchased a game, its yours to play all you like, even if your subscription ends.
Then What Is Xbox Live Gold
Xbox Live Gold is an online gaming subscription service by Microsoft for Xbox One and Xbox 360.
It is required to play multiplayer games on Xbox 360 or Xbox One. It doesnt matter if youre playing a co-op game or a massive online multiplayer game, you would need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to get into multiplayer modes.
Apart from allowing you to access multiplayer modes, other perks to Xbox Live Gold include getting a few free games every month plus access to members-only sales on some digital games.
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Get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate For Only $1
Want to level up your online gaming? Consider stepping up to the Xbox Game Pass. It gets you all the benefits of Xbox Live Gold membership plus access to over 100 awesome games, which can be played on Xbox, PC and Android mobile devices.
Here’s the best bit: you can get your first three months of Game Pass for just $1. That’s a massive 93% saving!
After that, it’ll auto-renew at the regular price of $14.99 per month but it can be cancelled at any time there’s no contract to worry about.
Already used up Microsoft’s $1 GamePass trial? Here’s how to save more money over the next three months…
Do You Need Xbox Live Gold To Play Warzone
No, luckily you don’t need Xbox Live Gold to enjoy Call of Duty’s Warzone. That’s great news all around, it means more players are going to keep the game popular for longer. It’s especially good news for those that only play Warzone, who would otherwise be wasting money on an Xbox Live Gold subscription.
At the moment having an Xbox Live Gold account does nothing for you in Warzone, but if you’re a shooter player in general then we might have some good news for you. In the same way, PlayStation and Call of Duty have a deal to give PlayStation users more cosmetics and sometimes early access. Xbox is making the same deal with Battlefield. So this year’s Battlefield 2042 may be coming with a few bundles or perhaps a week early access to certain modes for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. We do already know that subscribers to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate are getting an exclusive 8 hour trial of Battlefield 2042 from October 15, the beginning of early access week, so keep your eyes peeled.
Like keeping up to speed with all things Warzone Season 4? So do we, here’s a few of the new additions in case you missed anything:
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Xbox Live Gold: What’s Not Good In 2021
While Xbox Live Gold delivers upon all its promises, unlocking the full multiplayer experience on Xbox consoles, the subscription has its shortcomings. For some, it’s the concept of paid multiplayer, whereas free online gaming is an overlooked luxury for many on PC. But the subscription’s current offering has also fallen under scrutiny, especially in light of the recent changes to free-to-play gaming.
While paying for online multiplayer has proven the norm for Xbox, that’s not to say it’s dodged heavy scrutiny at times. According to reputable reports, Microsoft even looked to phase out paid multiplayer back in 2019, as Xbox Game Pass takes the spotlight moving forward. The recent tweaks to free-to-play multiplayer have since materialized in a move that, for some players, could eliminate the need for Xbox Live Gold.
Free-to-play games now make up some of the most popular Xbox games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends. There’s a valid argument to cancel your Xbox Live Gold subscription if among those only using a console for those no-cost titles. That hugely restricts which experiences you can play, but it’s an ideal way to save on your upgoing gaming costs.
Xbox Live Gold’s “Games with Gold” program, offering four free games each month, pales in comparison to Xbox Game Pass offerings.
Depends On The Online Multiplayer Games You Play
The answer to that question depends on what kind of multiplayer games a player is into. As previously mentioned, all free-to-play online games no longer require an Xbox Live Gold subscription, which includes titles such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, Rocket League, Roblox, and to name a few. However, it is worth noting that other online games that require an upfront purchase would still require players to have an Xbox Live Gold subscription. It is worth noting that the removal of the paywall for most free-to-play online games is something that PS Plus players already enjoy, which is why this decision is definitely good news to players on Xbox consoles. But now that free-to-play games no longer require an Xbox Live Gold subscription, what else is the service for?
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What Are Xbox Live And Xbox Live Gold
Xbox Live and Xbox Live Gold have different features, but what are they? Here’s what you get from both subscription services.
If you’re just getting started with your Xbox, you’ll come across the terms “Xbox Live” and its brother “Xbox Live Gold.” But what do both terms mean, and should you use them?
Let’s explore the difference between Xbox Live and Xbox Live Gold and which one you should use.
